Julia Ward Howe,1819-1910.Born in New York City, American writer and feminist who was active in the women's suffrage movement. She wrote "Battle Hymn of the Republic" (published 1862) and edited Woman's Journal (1870-1890).

In the United States, Mother's Day was originally conceived by Julia Ward Howe during the American Civil War.

It would be impossible for me to say how many times I have been called upon to rehearse the circumstances under which I wrote the Battle Hymn of the Republic. I have also had occasion more than once to state the simple story in writing. As this oft-told tale has no unimportant part in the story of my life, I will briefly add it to these records. I distinctly remember that a feeling of discouragement came over me, as I drew near the city of Washington, at the time already mentioned. I thought of the women of my acquaintance whose sons or husbands were fighting our great battle; the women themselves serving in the hospitals, or busying themselves with the work of the Sanitary Commission. My husband was beyond the age of military service, my eldest son but a stripling; my youngest was a child of not more than two years. I could not leave my nursery to follow the march of our armies, neither had I the practical deftness which the preparing and packing of sanitary stores demanded. Yet, because of my sincere desire, a word was given me to say, which did strengthen the hearts of those who fought in the field and of those who languished in the prisons.

We were invited, one day, to attend a review of troops at some distance from the town. While we were engaged in watching the manoeuvres, a sudden movement of the enemy necessitated immediate action. The review was discontinued, and we saw a detachment of soldiers gallop to the assistance of a small body of our men who were in imminent danger of being surrounded and cut off from retreat. The regiments remaining on the field were ordered to march to their cantonments. We returned to the city very slowly, of necessity, for the troops nearly filled the road. Mr. Clarke was in the carriage with me, as were several other friends. To beguile the rather tedious drive, we sang, from time to time, snatches of army songs; concluding, I think, with John Browns body lies a-mouldering in the ground; His soul is marching on.

The soldiers seemed to like this, and answered back, Good for you! Mr. Clarke said, Mrs. Howe, why do you not write some good words for that stirring tune? I replied that I had often wished to do this, but had not as yet found in my mind any leading toward it. I went to bed that night as usual, and slept quite soundly, according to my want. I awoke in the gray of the morning twilight; and as I lay waiting for the dawn, the long lines of the desired poem began to twine themselves in my mind. Having thought out all the stanzas, I said to myself, I must get up and write these verses down, lest I fall asleep again and forget them. So, with a sudden effort, I sprang out of bed, and found in the dimness an old stump of a pen, which I remembered to have used the day before. I scrawled the verses almost without looking at the paper. I had learned to do this when, on previous occasions, attacks of versification had visited me in the night, and I feared to have recourse to a light lest I should wake the baby, who slept near me. I was always obliged to decipher my scrawl before another night intervened, as it was legible only while the matter was fresh in my mind. At this time, having completed my writing, I returned to bed and fell asleep, with the reflection, I like this better than most things that I have written. The poem, which was soon after published in The Atlantic Monthly, was somewhat praised on its appearance, but the vicissitudes of the war so engrossed public attention that small heed was taken of literary matters. I knew, and was content to know, that the poem soon found its way to the camps, as I heard now and then of its being sung in chorus by the soldiers. As the war went on, it came to pass that Chaplain McCabe, newly released from Libby Prison, gave a public lecture in Washington, and recounted some of his recent experiences. Among them was the following:

He and the other Union prisoners occupied one large, comfortless room, in which the floor was their only bed. The official in charge of their quarters told them, one evening, that the Union army had just been terribly defeated. While they sat together in great sorrow, the negro who waited upon them whispered to one man that the officer had given them false information, and that, on the contrary, the Union soldiers had achieved an important victory. At this good news they all rejoiced, and presently made the walls ring with my Battle Hymn, which they sang in chorus, Chaplain McCabe leading. The lecturer recited the poem with such effect that those present began to inquire, Who wrote this Battle Hymn? It became one of the leading lyrics of the war. In view of its success, one of my good friends said, Mrs. Howe ought to die now, for she has done the best that she will ever do. I was not of this opinion, feeling myself still full of days works, although I did not guess at the new experiences which then lay before me.

FROM: Reminiscences of Julia Ward Howe published in The Atlantic Monthly (May 1899). In The Nineteenth Century in Print: Periodicals, Library of Congress.

Song Lyrics;Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:His truth is marching on.Chorus:Glory, glory, hallelujah!Glory, glory, hallelujah!Glory, glory, hallelujah!His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps,They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:His day is marching on.Chorus:

I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:"As ye deal with my condemners, so with you my grace shall deal;Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,Since God is marching on."Chorus:

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat:Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!Our God is marching on.Chorus:

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,While God is marching on.Chorus:

He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,He is Wisdom to the mighty, He is Succour to the brave,So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of Time His slave,Our God is marching on.Chorus:

Song Now Playing;Battle Hymn Of The Republic

Abraham Lincoln - February 9, 1864.16th U.S. President (1861–1865)(Portrait above)

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Great Emancipator, was an American politician who served as the 16th President of the United States (1861 to 1865), and the first president from the Republican Party. Today, he is best known for ending slavery and preserving the Union by overseeing the war effort during the American Civil War. He selected the generals and approved their strategy; selected senior civilian officials; supervised diplomacy, patronage and party operations; and rallied public opinion through messages and speeches. His influence has been magnified by his powerful oratory; his Gettysburg Address had a lasting impact on American values.

Growing up in Indiana, Lincoln became one of Illinois' most respected lawyers. He entered politics by helping to found and lead the state's Whig Party; he helped found and lead the Illinois Republican Party. In 1860 he won the party nomination as a moderate and was elected in a four-way race. Fearing that he would interfere with slavery, 11 Southern states seceded. Lincoln refused to recognize the Confederacy and made it his first priority to reunite the nation. To do that he had to overthrow slavery as well, which he did through the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment. He took personal charge of Reconstruction, seeking to speedily re-unite the nation. He was opposed by the Radical Republicans who advocated much harsher policies. Lincoln's assassination as the war ended made him a martyr and icon of American nationalism.

Philippians 2:3-8Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!NIV

The Battle Hymn Of The RepublicIs a patriotic anthem, written by Julia Ward Howe, that was made popular during the American Civil War. The original words and music were written in 1853 by South Carolinian William Steffe. It was alternately called "Canaan's Happy Shore" or "Brothers, Will You Meet Me?" and was sung as a campfire spiritual. The tune spread across the United States, taking on many sets of new lyrics.

A man from Vermont named Thomas Bishop joined the Massachusetts Infantry before the outbreak of war and wrote a popular set of lyrics titled "John Brown's Body" (after the radical abolitionist) which became one of his unit's walking songs. Bishop's battalion was dispatched to Washington, D.C. in 1862. Returning from a public review of the troops, Julia Ward Howe sang with them. Her companion, the Reverend James Clarke, suggested to Howe that she write new words for the fighting men's song, and the current version of "Battle Hymn of the Republic" was born.

The Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.Photo by Christopher W. French

Photograph above from Benjamin Brown French.Showing March 4, 1861, the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln in front of the U.S. Capitol, which was undergoing construction.